A fresh start for the Hopeless

Acts chapter 3, starting at verse 1.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple

that's called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us.

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand, raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognised him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's.

And when Peter saw it, he addressed the people.

Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this?

Or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus,

whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he decided to release him.

But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.

And you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead.

To this we are witnesses.

And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know.

And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as also did your rulers.

For what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Repent, therefore, turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said,

The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.

You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you,

and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.

And all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaimed these days.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers,

saying to Abraham,

And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God, having raised up his servant,

sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.

Okay, well, the allure of gold.

It's been a constant in human history, I think.

It's a universal symbol of power, wealth, security, grandeur and extravagance.

Kings have decorated their palaces with gold.

Ancient societies, their high status people were buried with huge quantities of gold for the next life even.

Major temples of major religions absolutely glitter with gold.

Every currency in the world, as far as I know, is secured by gold.

We reward our top athletes with gold medallions.

The movie industry has thrived on the notion of gold.

A gold fever.

The quest for gold.

The fact that people will kill for gold and so on and so forth.

The allure of gold.

This morning as we continue our series on Acts called The Unstoppable Jesus,

we're actually confronted with something that's presented to us as better than gold.

And that is the power of Jesus to give us a fresh start.

To give the lifeless and the hopeless a fresh start through forgiveness, renewal and reconnection to God and his rich blessing.

Remember Luke's purpose in writing the Acts was to record what Jesus continued to do and to teach after he was resurrected and taken back to heaven.

Which is gathering all those he died for into his kingdom community, the church.

And already in the story we've come across some really radical things.

We've seen the radical fulfillment of God's promise to deliver the Holy Spirit.

And we've seen a radical change in a large number of people.

And we've seen a radical new community, the church, emerging as a result of that change.

And this morning we're going to be confronted with something equally radical.

That is a radical new salvation pathway to Jesus.

So jump into chapter 3 with me.

The incident begins with a very public healing of a very public figure.

A man who had lived with a profound physical disability since birth.

And in chapter 4 verse 22 it's later identified that this man was in his 40s.

A lifetime of severe physical disability.

Unable to walk or move by himself.

Reduced to begging in order simply to survive.

His life would have been life full of shame.

Hardship.

And utter dependence on the generosity of others.

Which doesn't sound much to us but we all love our autonomy, don't we?

The generosity of others both to carry him to his spot, we're told, every afternoon.

And also the generosity of, well, strangers after 40 years perhaps.

Generosity of others to give him money to survive.

And goodness only knows what other help he needed on a daily basis given his extended paralysis.

And here he is, as the story tells us, positioned at the main entrance into the temple, which is called the Beautiful Gate.

Now that Beautiful Gate, if the historians are right, is a tiring, a tiring 20 meter high doorway.

Double doors, in fact.

Made of Corinthian bronze.

Tons and tons of Corinthian bronze.

Josephus said it was called the Beautiful Gate because that gateway of all the gateways into the temple, that was far more beautiful than the other gateways.

Listen for it.

Made of, overlaid with silver and gold.

This was a stunning place.

A stunningly beautiful place where this man was sitting.

But that immediately throws us into a contrast because this man's life was devoid of beauty.

He would have been a social and religious outcast.

His fellow Jews would have looked at him.

They may well have given him money, but they still would have looked at him from a distance and seen him as one cursed by God because of his physical disability.

And in fact, it's a little bit ambiguous in intertestamental history, but the most likely scenario is that this man, because of his physical disability, was actually barred from going into the temple proper.

He had a form of life, but really was lifeless.

He was a little bit more.

And hopeless.

Beyond the help of medical facilities.

Beyond the help of his family, his friends.

Beyond the help even of Judaism.

The religion of his birth.

And into that moment, Peter, with very little fuss, declares the man healed in the name of Jesus.

and as proof of those words

the guy's on his feet

which means not just instant muscle strength

but instant neuroreceptor connections

right down to tell his brain to leap and jump

and go crazy

and he follows them into the temple

or goes with them into the temple

bouncing with excitement

and why wouldn't he be

and giving credit to God

and the crowd were stunned

why wouldn't they be

and then Peter seizes the moment

to put the whole thing

into the context of Jesus and salvation

so I want to just stop there in a sense

and prop there for a moment

because first and foremost

I want to suggest to us

as we unpack this text

that this incident is a further confirmation

of Jesus as Messiah and Saviour

rather than being about miracles

let me try and explain that

there's a strong parallel

in the way Luke structures

chapter 2 and chapter 3

now they're in the original text

there weren't chapter divisions

but there were still divisions

there's a strong parallel

between that

which we call Acts 2 and Acts 3

each begins with a supernatural event

but in each situation

the focus very quickly moves away

from that supernatural event

to understanding the event

in terms of the unstoppable Jesus

both the supernatural arrival

of the Holy Spirit

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and this miracle in Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

I believe

are symbolic confirmation

that the long promise

the long awaited Messiah

the age of salvation

that he would bring

had arrived

and it had arrived in Jesus

and in each incident

Peter makes clear

as he steps up

and addresses the crowd

Peter makes clear

in the way he interprets it

for the crowd

what they've just seen

not only is Jesus unstoppable

is what Peter's effectively saying

but Jesus is also God's pathway

to salvation and renewal

that which was promised long ago

through the prophets

to come through Messiah

well this is it

Jesus is him

the time has arrived

salvation is among us

in the person of Jesus

and further confirmation of that

I think is hidden in verse 8

of chapter 3

that part that sounds familiar to us

walking and leaping

and praising God

if that sounds a bit familiar

it's because it's the language

of Isaiah

it's also the language

of Handel's Messiah

but not many of you

necessarily would know that

it's familiar to us

and so I think what Luke

has done here

is deliberately use

the language of Isaiah

because the context

in which Isaiah wrote

was exactly this

that you will recognize

the age of salvation

when it dawns among you

you will recognize Messiah

because the lamb

will leap for joy

there will be supernatural events

that will just be radical

and beyond belief

Luke's telling us

that this also is a confirmation

of Jesus as Messiah

Jesus as God's Savior

and God's King

now I just got to stop there

and I want everybody to listen

really really carefully

because I don't want to have

150 conversations after

this morning

I am not saying

I'm not suggesting

for a moment

that the Lord

does not ever heal

people physically

these days

I am saying

that this healing

is not a blueprint

for us

to repeat

as we seek

to do evangelism

as we seek to convince people

to believe in Jesus

the point here

I think is

that Jesus

radically

changes life

lives

from the inside out

as the prophets

predicted

Messiah would do

change hearts of stone

to living creatures

take dead people

spiritually dead people

and make them alive

that's the point

that's on show here

Jesus

is the one

who's doing that

dramatically

and noticeably

now friends

I think you'd have to say

with me

that there is

there is no more

compelling evidence

compelling testimony

to the power

and desire

of Jesus

to renew us

than a radically

changed life

and this is the life

we see before us

the emphasis here

immediately goes

to this guy

once he's healed

going to praise God

spiritual and physical healing

parallel each other

go back to Mark chapter 2

Mark 2 · chapter mention

the healing of the paralytic

in Christ's early ministry

spiritual and physical healing

parallel each other

and Christ has the power

to do both

Christ's ability

to heal

physical afflictions

testifies

to the power

that is less visible

but perhaps

more eternally significant

the power

to heal our souls

the power

to renew us

from the inside out

moving on then

the pathway

to salvation

that has been set

out here

in Jesus

exposes real

spiritual need

not perceived

desires

I'm trying to set up

a little bit of

contrast there

in my headings

now what's the

immediate perceived

need

of this

disabled man

in the story

apparently

it's money

he wants money

because

money

is the only

thing that he can see

which will alleviate

his terrible situation

and deliver him

the best version

of life

that he could expect

to have

which is pretty miserable

but nevertheless

it will be the best version

he could expect

as I said before

though alive

he was lifeless

hopeless

it was totally

lacking autonomy

given his dependence

on others

his reality

his reality

was just

daily

desperation

but there's nothing

wrong with his head

I don't think

he was very pragmatic

I suspect

this guy

wily after

40 years

because he had

worked out

that the best

place to put

his distorted

dare I say

grotesque

body

on show

and that's not

a reference to

all physical

disabilities

it's trying to pick up

the story here

the best place

to put that

on show

he worked out

was at

this

temple gate

why?

I suspect

he was convinced

he would exploit

any sense

of guilt

or embarrassment

people who

passed him

daily

might have felt

and there would have been

a constant stream

this was the most popular

entrance into the temple

there would have been

hundreds if not thousands

gone past him

daily

and there he was

in all his agony

and you can imagine it

just a pang of guilt

and the note you get

out of your wallet

is a bigger one

perhaps he's also

exploiting the religious

sensibilities

of this

ongoing stream

of able-bodied

upright Jews

going into the temple

to pray

now almsgiving

or giving to the poor

or the needy

was a very big part

of Jewish religious life

and these guys

were going to pray

so

this crippled man

may well have been

thinking

well okay

these guys

if they give me

a donation

going into the temple

well they're going to

actually be able to

begin to pray

with a little bit more

of a sense of confidence

before the Lord

I've fulfilled

your laws

Lord

I'm a good person

Lord

give me your blessing

Lord

this man knew

he needed help

with life

he didn't know

he needed Jesus

initially

he didn't realize

his relationship

with God

was as totally

disabled

spiritually

as what he was

physically

he seemed

oblivious

to the fact

that the beautiful

gate that he was

parked beside

actually blocked

his access

to God

he just

didn't seem

to be thinking

in that space

for him

it was just

a great place

to get money

likewise

the able-bodied

people

there's a lot

to be learned

from them

in this story

I think

the able-bodied

people streaming

into the temple

every day

were likewise

oblivious

to their

deep

spiritual needs

their perceived

need

as they were

trotting into

the temple

was to get

God's blessing

as a result

of prayer

as they passed

the beggar

no doubt

they thanked

God

that they were

not sinful

like this

wretched person

was

and that they

hadn't experienced

God's curse

God's judgment

like this wretched

man had

that they could

freely enter

the temple

now their

expressed need

was simply

to get

God's blessing

by doing

what good

Jews

do

going to the

temple

sacrificing

praying

giving to the

poor

they also

failed to

understand

the seriousness

of their sin

yes it's

true

that these

male

Jew

able-bodied

Jews

could get

one

courtyard

further

into the

temple

so if you

think about

it as

moving

towards

God

they could

get one

courtyard

closer to

God

than this

disabled

guy could

but hey

they were

still

when they

got to the

other side

of that

courtyard

they were

blocked out

because they

couldn't go

into God's

presence

because of

their sin

so yeah

well what

difference does

one courtyard

make at the

end of the

day

you drown

ten meters

off the

shore

you drown

a mile

off the

shore

or two

kilometers

whatever

and likewise

Jewish women

they wouldn't

even have been

able to go

as far

into the

temple

sorry they

wouldn't

have been

able to

go any

further

into the

temple

than this

disabled

man was

and likewise

the Gentiles

because this

beautiful gate

separated the

court of

the Gentiles

from the

court of

Israel

the court

of the

Jews

so it's

all there

all these

people

all their

perceived

desires

oblivious

to their

deep needs

the deep

need of

renewed

access to

God

they were

all in

the end

in the

same

basket

they were

all

spiritually

disabled

not much

difference

really

between

them

and

this

desperate

character

they saw

before them

every single

day

it's just

that the

beggar was

perhaps

more

more

aware

of his

condition

up to

a point

anyway

moving on

Peter addresses

the spiritual

needs of

both

the

disabled

man

and

the

apparently

healthy

crowd

offering

them

a fresh

start

through

God's

new

temple

not

more

religious

effort

and again

hopefully

this will

come clear

as I move

through the

point

so

the

testimony

of this

man

is really

compelling

no

question

about

that

but

testimony

of itself

is never

going to be

enough

we need

to speak

about

Jesus

and that's

exactly

what

Peter

does

testimony

tells us

what

Jesus

has done

in a

person's

life

in our

own

experience

but we

need to

hear

objectively

about who

Jesus

is

and what

he's

done

for all

mankind

so Peter

addresses

the

spiritual

needs

of both

the

disabled

man

and the

apparently

healthy

crowd

and Peter

speaks

interestingly

not at

all

about

the

healing

or the

man

who's

just

been

healed

nor

about

himself

or his

part

in the

miracle

he speaks

only

about

Jesus

he speaks

about

the

authority

of

Jesus

he speaks

about

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Jesus

he speaks

about

the

implication

of

these

things

for

salvation

and

for

receiving

God's

blessing

my

friends

Peter

goes

to

the

source

of

the

healing

with

very

confronting

words

might

add

to

these

religious

Jews

and

what

he

says

essentially

is

this

picking

up

in

verses

13

to

15

now

listen

here

you

guys

you

need

to

understand

that

in

every

way

imaginable

you

guys

totally

dishonored

Jesus

you

failed to

listen to

him

verses

22

through

25

you

failed to

listen

to

him

when

he

came

to

you

obviously

at the

very

least

he

came

to

you

as

a

prophet

but

there was

actually

more than

that

you

dishonored

him

in

spite

of

all

the

evidence

verses

13

to

15

all

the

evidence

pointing

to

the

fact

that

he

was

God

he

was

doing

things

that

only

God

would

do

could

do

and

he's

properly

called

and in

those

verses

Luke

lays

it

on

Peter

lays

it

on

to

the

crowd

he's

properly

called

the

holy

and

righteous

one

that

was

the

name

of

God

he's

properly

called

the

author

of

life

and

you

guys

killed

him

not

just

accidentally

killed

him

but

you

pursued

him

and

deliberately

bypassed

the law

in order

to have

him

murdered

strong

words

indeed

and

another

contrast

emerges

in stark

contrast

to the

way you

guys

have

dishonored

Jesus

we see

how God

the Father

honored

him

verse 13

and 15

God

glorified

Jesus

through

his

life

death

and

resurrection

and

indeed

his

return

to

the

throne

in

heaven

so

Peter

is

saying

this

you

guys

dishonored

Jesus

in

every

way

imaginable

God

honored

Jesus

in

every

way

imaginable

and

here's

the

specific

Peter

lays

on the

crowd

in

raising

Jesus

from

the

dead

God

confirmed

Jesus

as

uniquely

and

exclusively

the

Lord

and

Savior

of

all

people

the

healing

of

this

man

is

in a

sense

if I can

say that

simply

proof

that

Jesus

is

Lord

and

Savior

verse

16

and

it's

called

the man

perfect

health

in other

words

it's

it's

more

than

just

physical

health

it's

the

whole

being

health

so

again

let's

let's

revise

what

happened

to

this

man

he

heard

the

promise

in

his

desperation

he

heard

the

promise

that

Jesus

offered

him

something

far

better

than

money

it's

unlikely

that

Peter

and

John

had

actually

no

money

at

all

in

their

pockets

in

fact

chapter

2

says

they

had

access

to

a

lot

of

money

that's

not

what

Peter

is

talking

about

here

he

says

I'm

not

dealing

in

the

currency

of

this

world

my

friend

I

want

to

talk

to

you

about

the

currency

of

heaven

offering

him

something

far

better

than

money

restoration

to

perfect

health

being

renewed

from

the

inside

out

physically

and

spiritually

and in

response

this man

believed that

Jesus

could do

it

and that

Jesus was

willing to

do it

and would

do it

for him

personally

in all

his misery

and that

of itself

is the first

evidence

of Jesus

working

powerfully

in the man's

heart

so he

actually

grasps

the power

that was

in a sense

offered to

him in

these words

and this

act of

faith

as it's

called

in verse

16

itself

a gift

from

God

resulted

in the

man being

completely

healed

and a

new

desire

the

inside

healing

a new

desire

to be

near

God

to praise

him

that's a

marvelous

story

isn't it

that's a

marvelous

story

for this

man

but Peter

doesn't

stop there

because he

said you

know what

this man

before you

has experienced

is available

to every

one of you

here now

if you'll

turn to

Jesus

you too

he says

to the

crowd

can experience

this total

perfect health

this renewal

from the

inside out

and verses

19 through

to 21

if they

repent

recognizing

all that

Jesus

is

and all

that Jesus

did for

them as

God's

kingdom

and savior

then here's

the rub

says Peter

I can tell

you now

that God

will not

treat you

as you

treated

Jesus

that's a

powerful

statement of

repentance

isn't it

and the

consequence

and the

results

of

repentance

God

will not

treat

you

in the

crowd

in the

way that

you have

dishonored

Jesus

God will

not

dishonor

you

in fact

God

will bring

you to

a position

of honor

they would

enjoy a

fresh start

that's in

those verses

a fresh

start which

is receiving

forgiveness

having your

sin and the

guilt of your

sin wiped

away

the word in

here is

refreshing

and that

is an

Old Testament

idea of

renewal

recharging the

batteries or

putting the

bank account

back into

the black

when it's

been

trillions of

dollars in

the red

all those

sort of

images

built into

the refreshing

the renewal

idea

and the

guarantee

that Jesus

would come

back and

take them to

heaven to be

with them

forever

now my

friends this

is where we

just got to

step back

in and see

the big

temple in

the background

because in

effect I

think what

Peter's saying

to the crowd

is don't

look up there

to the bricks

and mortar

because in

fact I'm

telling you

here now

that Jesus

is God's

temple

Jesus is the

new temple

which God

promised through

the prophets

and which

Jesus himself

claimed to be

check out

chapter John

John 2:12–25

chapter 2

verses 12

through 25

Jesus said

to the

religious leaders

and they had

no idea

what he was

talking about

destroy this

temple and

in three days

I will raise

it up again

for it will

be raised up

again

he was speaking

of himself

and his

mission

now

according to

Jewish

understanding

and according

to the Old

Testament

scripture

according to

the prophets

Jerusalem

was the

physical

center

of God's

kingdom

the kingdom

of Israel

national

Israel

and the

temple

was the

spiritual

heart

of the

kingdom

now

what was the

significance of the

temple

the temple

was where God

resided among

his people

it was the

physical people

where people

could see

God living

as it were

and it was the

temple where

they went to

to connect

with God

they had to

offer sacrifices

they needed a

priest in the

temple

to be able to

access God

it was the

temple they went

to to receive

forgiveness

it was the

temple then they

offered other

sacrifices

of fellowship

offerings

to ensure

the ongoing

the continuation

of relationship

with God

given that

they were

sinful people

and he was

a holy God

it was a

place where

people

God's people

would enjoy

refreshment

as they enjoyed

his wonderful

blessing

as they were

shaped as a

community

because that

was one of

the things

that they

had to be

they had to

reflect God's

character

to the ends

of the earth

that was what

it was about

of course

national Israel

failed miserably

to do any

of that

and Peter's

now saying

to these

people

all of whom

are spiritually

disabled

all of whom

are in a sense

cut off from

God

even though

they're standing

in this

magnificent

building called

the temple

Peter's

essentially saying

don't look to

the bricks and

mortar

don't look to

history

don't look

to tradition

look to

Jesus

he is your

temple

he is

the place

you go

to

for

forgiveness

he is the

one

who will

assure you

and confirm

to you

ongoing

relationship

and acceptance

with God

he is where

you see

God

in all his

glory

and he

will shape

you into

that community

that will

display God's

character

to the ends

of the earth

the first glimpse

of which we

saw at the end

of chapter 2

Jesus

says Peter

is God's

pathways to

salvation

he is the

pathway away

from lifelessness

and hopelessness

away from the

distorted

and disabled

by sin

away from

that which

the Bible

another point

calls an

empty way

of life

handed down

to us

by our

forefathers

Jesus

is the

pathway

to break

the cycle

of despair

to break

the cycle

of exclusion

from God

with no

hope of

anything

better

in the

future

he is the

one who

will shape

the new

community

the church

so Christ's

character

displayed

to the ends

of the earth

in fact

the last few

verses

chapter 22

to 26

as I finish

up now

I just

draw your

attention to that

it's almost

as if Peter

said

now look

this

what I'm

talking to you

about now

is the very

thing that God

has desired

to give you

all along

this is what

he spoke to

Abraham and

Moses and

David and

all the prophets

about

and it's

here

just listen

for goodness

sake he's

saying to the

crowd

listen to

what God

has said

to you

in Jesus

and you

will receive

the very

blessing

that God

has always

wanted to

give you

turn to

Jesus

for perfect

health

and experience

sorry

turn to

Jesus

for perfect

health

and experience

every blessing

of God

I'll finish

on this

the choice

for the

crowd

and therefore

the choice

for you

and me

could not

be more

simple

with the

consequences

of that

choice

not being

able to

be more

profound

listen

says Peter

turn to

Jesus

for perfect

health

and to

experience

every blessing

of God

or

shut your

eyes

shut your

ears

continue to

reject

Jesus

and as it

says

they

experience

the full

judgment

of God

see how

the choice

is so

simple

the consequences

are so

profound

so let me

end where I

started

gold is

always

alluring

it's the

currency

of this

world

but the

currency of

heaven

is Jesus

and so the

question is a

very simple

one to you

is that

worth more

than gold

to you

is he

worth more

than gold

to you

is belonging

to Jesus

a treasure

you want

for yourself

for your

children

for your

friends

I

despair

sometimes

when I

hear

parents

it may

not be a

true

reflection

of what

they're

saying

but it's

what they

express

needs

I just

want to

give my

children a

good financial

start in

life

let me

pray

Lord what a

wonderful

wonderful picture

you've given

us a very

personal and

immediate picture

of this man's

plight and

then the

fact that

he's renewed

in you

Lord we

recognize and

acknowledge

your

both your

power and

your

willingness

to heal

people

physically

and we

know Lord

that you

do

but help

us Lord

not to

trip over

this miracle

and become

demanding

as though

somehow

that is the

key point

help us to

look to the

Lord Jesus

and see that

in him we

have perfect

health

and help us

to see the

treasure that

is far

more value

than money

and help us

to orientate

our lives

then Lord

around our

treasure

in Jesus

name

Amen

Thank you